Brian and I a starting a series of posts called “Ask Us Anything” where we promise to be honest in our answers and hopefully as encouraging as well. If you have a question you’d like for us to answer, feel free to ask! Can you model how you plan a unit? — Kathy F. Susan: … Continue Reading
My first Pearl Jam concert was on 9-11-98 at Madison Square Garden. While the concert was unforgettable, its date was… until it wasn’t. That night Eddie and the boys played 26 songs, with two encores, and brought back “Breath,” a song they had retired years ago. It all ended with “Alive,” and Eddie throwing his … Continue Reading
I spent time working with teachers this summer, some of whom had 40-50 students in each class and over 200 students on their rosters. Others wanted advice on what to teach because everything they loved was now banned by their state. Some lost their free periods to cover classes because subs were nowhere to be … Continue Reading
I’m going to tell you why I think comments on essays are a bad idea… but first a quick story. About five years ago, my Sunday nights were spent at a mostly-empty Starbucks. For hours I would read and comment on all the papers and pages I accumulated over the week. By Monday afternoon, many … Continue Reading
Some days feel like a mad dash to the final bell. When that happens my colleagues can read it on my face, I am surviving day-to-day. It is a huge source of stress for teachers when the day owns them, they don’t own the day. And it leads to all kinds of complications like low … Continue Reading
What does it mean to be a successful master teacher? I can remember first hearing someone labeled a master while watching episodes of This Old House with my father when I was a boy. When the credits rolled, Norm Abrams was listed as master carpenter. It added an aura to his skills akin to Jedi knighthood. But what … Continue Reading
There is a super-simple way to get students to recognize tone, understand character, and experiment with voice all at the same time. This year I had my students assume the identity of characters in the novels we were reading and write fake Tweets from the perspective of that character. I instructed them to think of … Continue Reading
I came home from school nearly every day this week with that deep tiredness that you feel right down to your bones. It has never been this acute or severe in my 18 years of teaching. A colleague pulled me aside in my first year and said, “teaching maybe the only profession in which your … Continue Reading
download these notes as a PDF Tidbits of Knowledge This book is on the following lists: Favorite Quotes: Teaching Focus Activities download these notes as a PDF
Don’t you just love those teachers that are boundless wells of optimism? You know the ones I’m talking about; they are easy to spot. They believe they can change the world from their classrooms. They teach students beyond the curriculum. They inspire them to greatness with words of wisdom. And they offer the means to … Continue Reading
